


Chaotic... Something

by Coby_Thinks



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Analogical Parents, Angst, Food mentions, Guns, Highschool AU, I'm a fucked up bastard, Injury, So be fucking careful, Unsympathetic OC, Who is just in the first scene, and i wrote this, be safe motherfuckers, please be careful this is fucked up, please do not fucking read this if it'll trigger you, school shooting, so there, you'll see - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:49:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25885354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coby_Thinks/pseuds/Coby_Thinks
Summary: Remus didn’t claim to be a good person. He didn’t claim to be a good brother. He didn’t claim to be a good student, son, citizen, or friend.  He didn’t claim to be good at all.But he didn’t claim to be bad, either.That’s what Remus told himself now, staring at his best friend from across the cafeteria, and the gun trained on a group of freshmen.Being neutral wasn’t going to work right now, was it?WARNINGS: Guns, shooting, school shooting, blood, injuries, hospital, food mentions, death mentions, NO character death, Open/mostly happy endingI'm not fucking sorry my dudes
Relationships: Analogical - Relationship, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Logic | Logan Sanders, Platonic Creativitwins
Comments: 11
Kudos: 93





	Chaotic... Something

Remus didn’t claim to be a good person. He didn’t claim to be a good brother. He didn’t claim to be a good student, son, citizen, or friend. He didn’t claim to be good at all.

But he didn’t claim to be bad, either.

He didn’t claim anything.

He lived by one rule - and that rule was not using labels to describe himself or put himself into a box. That way of acting did end up dumping him into a box others labeled ‘bad’. He didn’t care, not really. He didn’t care either way what anyone thought of him. He didn’t care about anything, and that was how he liked it. 

His friends didn’t have that same mindset, though. Some of them cared about things very much. Too much. Remus didn’t think before he acted. Some of his friends thought long and hard but still made the same stupid decisions. 

But, as always, Remus didn’t care. His friends were fun. That was all that mattered to him.

Okay, maybe not all. Maybe he did care about his brother - as pretentious and annoying as he was - and maybe he did care about the well being of other people in general. He wasn’t a dick. He wasn’t a bad person. He didn’t hurt people - that wasn’t the kind of chaotic Remus had ever wanted to be.

Maybe he forgot that, sometimes. Maybe he ignored the fact that his friends didn’t think like he did. Maybe, he wasn’t a good or bad person. But people make mistakes, and that shouldn’t be something to define who they are.

But he was still in high school. His mistakes didn’t matter, nothing mattered! Highschool was just… limbo. None of the friends he made or the stupid things he said would affect the rest of his life. 

That’s what he told himself when he got detention after detention. That’s what he told himself when his parents yelled at him. That’s what he told himself when his friends started straying further from the ‘chaotic neutral’ they claimed to be.

That’s what Remus told himself now, staring at his best friend from across the cafeteria, and the gun trained on a group of freshmen. 

Being neutral wasn’t going to work right now, was it? No one else had seen him yet, as Brent stood in the shadows of where he and Remus usually were. 

The decision - as impulsive as every other decision Remus had ever made - took a split second. 

He pulled the fire alarm, locking eyes with the person he’d once said he’d die for. Brent’s face morphed into fury as the cafeteria stuttered to a halt. No one had seen Remus pull it except Brent, and the students all started to rush out of the room. 

And then there was a gunshot.

Shit. 

Remus couldn't think. He never thought about anything ever. He barrelled through the screaming students, still glaring daggers at his… friend. Brent had missed the first shot, shattering a window. Now, though, he’d focused and aimed at the crowd of students rushing away from him. 

Remus pushed past a group of younger students, the ones closest to Brent.

“What the hell are you doing!?” Remus hissed, holding out one hand. Brent turned the gun on him and Remus froze, every part of his body telling him to run. Get the fuck out - who cared about anyone else? He wasn’t gonna get shot, that’s not how his life was supposed to go.

“I’ll kill you.” Brent snarled. “In two seconds, if you don’t get out of my way.”

“Fuck you.” Remus spat back, stepping forward again and reaching for the weapon. 

Another gunshot. More screams - though most of the students had gotten out of the cafeteria by then. Blinding pain ripped through him, and it occurred to Remus that the screaming was too loud to be anyone but himself. 

A third gunshot and everything got so much worse. Everything hurt, everything was loud, everything was too bright…

And then everything was dark. Everything seemed to be muffled, and quiet. He could hear screaming, and he could hear shouts of unfamiliar voices. But, the only thing he could really focus on was the pain.

He really should start thinking before he acted.

* * *

Roman was in shock. Basically. Like, he hadn’t been diagnosed, but he was pretty sure this is what shock felt like.

One moment, he’d been eating lunch in the drama room with his friends. The next, the fire alarms went off.

The moment after that, time seemed to freeze when they heard gunshots from down the hall.

The drama teacher closed the door and the blinds, commanding someone to call the police and others to help him drag desks in front of the door.

The moments in the drama room had rushed past in a terrifying blur. So had the moments when police arrived, and the ambulance arrived, and everyone had gone home early.

Everyone except one person.

And now Roman was here.

In the hospital.

Sitting next to his brother.

This moment - the moment where their parents were out of the room and the only sound was Remus’s heart monitor - seemed to drag on for eternity.

He’d heard the story given by witnesses, and taken from the security cameras. Remus had walked in - going toward his friend to eat lunch - when he stopped and stared before pulling the alarm. His friend had been the shooter. Then, not only had Remus done the thing fastest to get people out, he’d gone toward the danger. He was such a fucking idiot.

He was the only person to get shot because he’d distracted the shooter long enough for everyone else to run and call the police.

Roman just didn’t understand. Remus was an idiot - but had he tried to reason with the guy? Had he said anything? The video showed him reaching to take the gun away. What the fuck had he been thinking?

And since when did Remus care about people he didn’t even know?

Roman sighed, looking away from Remus when a soft knock echoed in the room. It cracked open, showing the faces of his two best friends.

“Your parents said we could come see you…” Patton said softly, eyes darting from Remus to Roman. Roman nodded, rubbing his face as Patton and Janus walked over. “Are you okay?”

“Mm.” Roman didn’t really know what to say to that. He wasn’t the one who’d been shot two times and had been on life support for two days. 

He’d almost died. Remus could have died. He could have died and the last thing Roman would have said was… god, when was the last time he even talked to his brother? They didn’t get along. Remus didn’t get along with anyone… except for that kid. The kid who was now in jail, charged with attempted murder. He was a senior - and an adult. And he’d nearly killed Roman’s brother.

“They said he’s getting better,” Patton said softly, while Janus just looked at Remus, mouth closed tightly. “He’ll be okay…”

“Won’t be the same,” Roman mumbled, eyes skating over the bandages covering Remus’s injuries. 

The first one had shot into his… well, basically his armpit with the arm raised to grab the gun. Roman didn’t know details, but he knew bones had shattered and Remus wouldn’t have full motion in the arm again.

The second was his chest - narrowly missing his heart - and his lung had collapsed. He’d needed surgery, and he’d still nearly died.

Now, he just had oxygen and a feeding tube until he woke up.

And no one seemed to be able to tell them when that would happen.

“Did they tell you what happened?” Janus asked softly. “No one at school knows anything, except that Brent was Remus’s best friend. Was it some kind of… planned suicide thing?”

“Wh- Janus!”

“I don’t think so.” Roman shook his head. “He tried to grab the gun. He… I dunno. I don’t think he wanted this to happen. I don’t think he even knew it was going to happen.”

“He pushed kids out of the way,” Janus said softly. “They’ve all been talking about it - most of them. Said he… saved them.”

“I know.” Roman shook his head, torn by what he knew about his brother's personality and what the facts said happened that day. 

Remus had never cared about a single person in his entire life. He wasn’t bad, really. He just didn’t care. He hung out with bad kids - obviously - but he didn’t really hurt anyone. But putting himself in danger… Roman never would have imagined he do that. Up to pulling the alarm, that day made sense. It was what Remus did after he pulled it that didn’t make sense.

“I wonder what he’ll do when he wakes up,” Patton said softly.

“Probably try to break out of the hospital,” Roman said, smiling slightly at the thought before worry and confusion crept back into his mind. “I dunno. We… don’t talk much. These days.”

They’d been close when they were young - he’d been part of the group with Janus and Patton and the others. But as he became more of… what Remus was known to be now… he’d drifted away. Gotten friends like… Brent. Become someone Roman was ashamed to be related to.

The truth was, Roman had never understood Remus enough to have that kind of opinion on him. And now… things were more confusing than ever.

* * *

Wow, either Remus was high as fuck, dead, or something else. His head was foggy as hell.

He probably wasn’t dead, actually. He still had shit to do, like go bungy jumping in the grand canyon and eating mentos before downing a coke in the middle of a wedding. There was no way he’d let himself die before doing that - and a few other things probably.

So he was probably high… on what? Ugh, thinking was hard…

Hmm. He was in bed. A bed that wasn’t his.

Weird.

He was definitely waking up - though his thoughts were still blurry. He could hear people talking - it sounded like his parents. He’d probably done something stupid again…

He could also hear a heart monitor.

He’d definitely done something stupid. It was probably Brents idea if he ended up in the-

Oh.

Oh yeah.

Vague memories of what happened floated through Remus’s mind, and he grew that much more around of his surroundings.  
The dull pain, the oxygen tubes at his nose, the god awful feeding tube in his mouth… the way it was all slightly fogged over by some kind of hospital grade painkiller.

The good news was that he hadn’t been high in front of his parents again.

Remus grimaced, opening one eye to find the lights were off. That was good because bright lights would not help with his headache right now.

He opened the other eye, not quite willing to turn his head toward his parent's voices yet. Instead, he just stared at the wall, listening idly as they talked about Roman. Hm, was Roman here? Probably not. He needed his beauty sleep, after all.

“-Knew he shouldn’t be friends with that kid,” Virgil muttered after a pregnant pause. “Why didn’t we do something, or like-”

“We can’t focus on that now,” Logan said gently. “We need to focus on Remus’s recovery. He should be waking up any day now.”

“They’ve been saying that for a week, Lo… what if-”

“He’s not in any mortal danger now,” Logan said firmly. 

Well, no reason to keep them waiting.

Remus tried lifting his hand, only to realize really quickly that he shouldn’t use his dominant side. So he settled for his right, lifting it up as he gingerly turned his head.

“Shit- Remus!” Virgil was at his side immediately, in line of sight at last. Oh, he looked awful. Remus peered up at him, noting the bags under his eyes and the way his clothes were rumpled. Huh. He’d really been worried, hadn’t he?

With his head turned, Remus could see that Roman was asleep in a chair next to him, curled up in on himself like a little pill bug. 

Logan had stood as well, though he stayed a step behind Virgil. 

“Are you okay, Rem?” Virgil asked, gently brushing his hair back even though it wasn’t in Remus’s face. Remus made a so-so gesture with his hand, not able to speak around the feeding tube. His chest and shoulder hurt, and he wasn’t exactly sure what had happened, but he was still kicking. So, he counted that as okay.

“I’ll go tell them he’s awake, dear.” Logan kissed Virgil’s head before leaving. Remus glanced at Roman, then back at Virgil, curious. 

He knew his family cared about him… on a fundamental level. But he hadn’t really gotten along with them for years… ever since sixth grade, he’d clashed with the whole family picture they’d used to have. They fought all the time, and Roman hadn’t even spoken to him in over a month. He hadn’t expected all of them to be here. Especially not in the middle of the night.

“Do you remember what happened?” Virgil asked softly, holding Remus’s bad hand gently. “At school?” Remus nodded, rolling his eyes. Virgil sighed. Though, Remus couldn't tell if it was his usual annoyed sigh or if he was just tired and stressed. Probably the second, though Remus could never rule out the first.

“They’ll be in soon to check up on everything,” Logan said when he returned, sitting on the side of Remus’s bed that Virgil wasn’t at. “Does anything hurt?”

Remus gestured vaguely at his entire body, letting his hand fall back onto the blankets. Logan chuckled. It was fake - Remus always knew when it was fake. Logan was stressed just as much as Virgil was. He wished they wouldn’t be so stressed.

He wished he could talk, but with the feeding tube, it was impossible. 

They sat in silence, with Virgil running his hands through Remus’s hair every few moments. It was nice - they hadn’t hung out without arguing for a while. Maybe Remus should be quiet more often. 

The doctor arrived, asking Remus to rank his pain on a scale of one to ten - Remus settled on a six - and saying a few other things about removing the feeding tube soon and starting physical therapy, etc.

Before he left - it was nearly two AM at that point - the doctor met Remus’s eyes and smiled.

“I’ve never met someone quite like you, from what I’ve heard,” they said. Remus squinted curiously up at them. “From what they’ve told me, you’re quite the hero.”

Well, Remus sure hadn’t planned on being called a hero anytime in his life. He had no response - mostly because he couldn't talk - and the doctor left.

“You really worried us,” Virgil said, patting Remus’s cheek. “No more vigilante justice for a while, alright?”

Remus stared back, so many things he wanted to say to his dad running through his head, but he said nothing. He didn’t even try to express the confusion and pain and guilt he felt about this. 

He wasn’t a good person, but it looked like he was going to have a hard time getting anyone to understand that.

* * *

Remus was, in one word, pissed. Furious. Infuriated.

His arm was never going to have its full range of motion. Hell, it might not get even close to the full range of motion. He was going to miss the rest of the school year, recovering from all this shit. His best friend was going to jail, which, actually, Remus didn’t mind that much. It’s not like he was planning on maintaining the friendship either way. 

Oh yeah, and everyone was being ridiculously nice to him.

It was the worst.

At least the feeding tube was out after another two days, and he could call Roman on his bullshit. He’d tried calling Virgil and Logan out - but Logan of all people had started to cry when he did. So, he opted to leave his dads alone for the time being.

“I got you a book from the gift shop,” Roman said, putting the item down where Remus could reach it with his good hand. He didn’t pick it up.

“Why’d you do something like that?” Remus asked, not even bothering to look at the book.

“Because I care about you,” Roman said, exasperated. He’d been getting more and more annoyed by Remus voicing his confusion on the new behavior.

“Yeah, but you aren’t supposed to show it.” Remus scoffed. “We’re opposites, remember? I’m the disappointment and you’re the golden child?”

“You’re not a disappointment,” Roman said softly, sitting down in his chair. Remus rolled his eyes, picking up the book and frowning at the cover.

It was a horror mystery. Did they carry that kind of stuff at the hospital gift shop? Remus was like a million percent sure they didn’t.

“Ah, you’re a liar.” He decided, shaking his head in Roman’s direction, knocking the oxygen tubes askew.

“Wh- I am not!” Roman groaned. “You’re not a disappointment, man!”

“Oh, no, I meant about this.” Remus waved the book at him. “They only sell nice cutesy things at the gift shop here. You went to Barnes and Noble across the street.”

“...you got me.” Roman sighed dramatically. “But we’re still not done talking about this.”

“What? The fact everyone thinks I’m an angel now?” Remus opened the book, thumbing through the pages casually.

“The fact that you don’t think I care about you.”

“I know you care about me.” Remus sighed. “We talked about this, remember? We’re not supposed to get along. Doesn’t matter how we feel.”

“Why not?” Roman snapped. Remus frowned, putting the book back down. “Why can’t I try harder to actually understand you? I’m a shit brother for just assuming you’re a bad person because of who you spend time with.”

“I’m not a bad person,” Remus said.

“Yeah, I know, and-”

“But I’m not good.” Remus interrupted. “I’m just a dude, Roman. I do things for shit reasons or no reason at all. I wasn’t secretly hiding my soft side from you. What you saw is what you get.”

“Okay, but why are you acting like this?” Roman gestured to him. “You’re allowed to have a good relationship with us, y’know.”

“Not if you only want to because now I’m a goddamn ‘hero’ or whatever shit they’re calling me.” Remus snapped. “Just because I did one thing that happened to be good doesn’t mean I’m a good person. I’m not. I’m just me, and I don’t… ugh.”

“Alright, okay.” Roman held up his hands. “I understand what you’re saying, Rem.”

“Yeah right.” Remus rolled his eyes. Roman had never understood him a day in their lives.

Well, maybe that was a little harsh. But they weren’t kids anymore. The world wasn’t as nice and simple as Roman thought it was. 

“You’re still you, I think you've made that painfully obvious.” Roman rolled his eyes. “But I don’t even really know who that is in the first place, and I’d like to try.”

Oh.

“...You’re serious.” Remus said slowly, staring at his brother's face. Roman nodded immediately. Well damn. Maybe Roman was a little more grown-up than Remus thought he was, after all. 

“Please give me a chance to be a better brother.” Roman looked away, and Remus realized he was close to tears. Ah, shit. “I don’t want you to die before we’re friends again.”

“I’m not gonna die.” Remus scoffed. “Besides, you know me enough to buy me a horror book, so that’s a start.”

“I mean, I’m not completely useless.” Roman laughed, brushing a tear away and forcing a smile.

“Not so fast, Robro. I never said that.” Remus teased. 

“Oh, is that how it’s gonna be?” Roman leaned back, folding his arms. “And here I thought we were making progress.”

“We are.” Remus smiled impishly, still a bit baffled by all of this. Roman really was trying. Interesting.

* * *

“I hope they didn’t murder each other.” Virgil worried, stepping out of the elevator after Logan. Logan chuckled.

“I doubt they did. Roman at least would leave a grace period before doing anything like that.” He pointed out. “If anything, Remus is still alive at the very least.”

“Great.” Virgil rolled his eyes, then frowned as they approached the room. Was that… laughing? He’d been expecting tense silence, or bickering like when they left, not… whatever this was.

“Hmm.” Logan paused outside the door, listening intently as Remus cracked a joke and Roman erupted into fits of laughter again. They glanced at each other.

“They’re getting along.” Virgil realized aloud, eyes widening. Logan laughed softly.

“It certainly seems so.”

“Ow- ow- fuck, laughing hurts.” Remus’s voice made Virgil instantly worried again, and he pushed open the door to find the twins red-faced, but beaming, as Remus tried to calm down.

“What on earth are you two talking about?” He asked, setting the food they’d gotten on the table.

“Nothing.” Remus snickered. Roman took a bit longer to calm down, but he seemed to be happier than Virgil had seen in a while. They both did, though he hadn’t spent much time with Remus as of late.

“As long as you don’t hurt yourself,” Logan said, shooting Remus a look. Remus waved his good hand casually.

“Ah, I’m fine Daddio, don’t worry about it.” 

Virgil blinked a few times, trying to wrap his head around that. It had been… at least a year since Remus called one of them anything but their name. He’d called them ‘Dad’ and ‘Pop’ when he was younger, after the adoption, but when they started fighting that had stopped.

“What’d you get?” Roman asked, peeking inside the take-out bags. 

“Food,” Logan said, fishing containers of pasta from inside. Roman rolled his eyes and Virgil chuckled. “They don’t want you eating anything too rich, Remus, but this should suffice.”

“Oh, sweet!” Remus put a book Virgil didn’t recognize to the side, adjusting his position with a wince.

“Are you okay?” Virgil asked, immediately worried. “Do you need-”

“Oh, calm down Pops.” Remus sighed, taking the food from Logan. “I can handle some pain if it means I get pasta.”

“I can…” Virgil glanced at Logan, who just smiled and shook his head. “Alright, but if you need a doctor or more painkillers, you better tell me.”

“Sure.” Remus shrugged with one shoulder. “When d’you think we’re bustin out of here?”

“We’re not busting out of anywhere,” Virgil said firmly. “You’re staying until they release you.”

“Hospitals are hella expensive, though.” Remus pointed out between bites of pasta. 

“We’ll be fine,” Virgil said. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Wow, never thought I’d heard you say that.” Roman snickered. Virgil rolled his eyes.

“You two are ridiculous,” he muttered, even though Roman had a point. Both boys knew Virgil had anxiety - they tried to keep the house open about mental health. 

“Anyway, Patton and Janus are coming over at three,” Roman said, sitting back down next to Remus. “They’re bringing Uno if you wanna play.”

“We’ll see.”

Virgil sat down by the window with Logan as they ate, marveling at the change in how Remus and Roman interacted. Obviously something big - or weird - had happened while they were gone. He wasn’t really going to complain about it, though.

“Do I have to retake eleventh grade?” Remus asked as they neared the end of the meal, looking over at Logan with a face that - as much as he tried to hide it - seemed guilty. Another first.

“I’m not sure,” Logan said softly, throwing the take out containers away. “Thus far, everyone has been focused on whether or not you would recover. Now that it’s clear you will - as much as you can - we can focus on that. I think the most likely thing is that you’ll need to take some summer classes.”

“I guess that’s not too bad. I can’t do much else this summer anyway, can I?” Remus’s voice was tinged with bitterness, and Virgil winced as he recalled that the shooter had been Remus’s best - and only - friend for a few years now.

“I mean, you probably could.” Roman chuckled. “If you wanted to get hurt again.”

“Oh, right, of course.” Remus gasped dramatically. “I totally forgot that was an option! Change of plans, let’s go skydiving.”

“Ugh, of all the things, why skydiving?” Roman made a face. “You know I hate heights.”

“Not for long, motherfucker!”

“Hey.” Virgil tried to look sternly at them, but he was grinning at the exchange despite himself. He hadn’t realized how much he missed it when his sons got along.

“Ah, don’t be such a party pooper.” Remus chuckled. “I’m not gonna make this worse. I already won’t be able to become a chainsaw juggler - why would I lose the chance to do all my other life goals?”

Yeah, Virgil really did miss talking to Remus like this.

* * *

“Sitting in bed is boring as hell,” Remus complained, throwing a small stuffed octopus - a gift from Patton - at Roman’s face. “Let’s bust outta here!”

“Oh calm down.” Roman threw it back, shaking his head. “You’re out of here in a few days, anyway, remember? Why not take it easy?”

“Because that’s boring.” Remus pouted, rubbing the bandages around his chest idly. “And they have to take out my stitches first - that’s gonna be hell.”

“What, you’re not still afraid of needles are you?” Roman raised an eyebrow. Remus didn’t answer, just glared at him. “Remus, you’re like seventeen years old! I thought you didn’t care about needles anymore!”

“They suck!” Remus said loudly. “I hated every moment they had me on an IV. You know that!”

“Yeah, cuz you couldn't move around as much.” Roman snickered. Remus made a face at him. “Okay, okay, sorry. I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, well, that’s your opinion,” Remus grumbled. 

“I’ll hold your hand if you want me to,” Roman said, voice sickly sweet. 

“Try that and I’ll eat your fingers.” Remus hissed.

“Wow, rude.” Remus shrugged with his good shoulder. “I thought you were supposedly a good guy now, why would you do such a thing?”

“Hey, I’m not good.” Remus pointed accusingly at his brother. “And if I am, I’m chaotic good. Watch yourself.”

“You’re definitely chaotic something.” Roman shot back.

“Exactly.” Remus grinned. “No morals, only chaos. I’m the god of chaos.”

“I don’t remember that from our baby books.” 

“Oh, fuck you.” Remus threw the plushie at him again, and Roman caught it. 

Remus frowned, noticing the slightly foggy look on his brother's face again. It had been happening ever since he woke up. Roman would be fine one minute, then seemed to be on another planet mentally. 

“What’re you thinking about, stick in the mud?” He asked, sitting up a bit more.

“I…” Roman looked down at the plush octopus, then up at Remus. Remus winced at the tears in his brother's eyes. Ah, fuck. Emotions. “I just don’t understand why you walked toward him.”

“Ro…” Remus bit back his sarcastic reply, running that days events through his head again.

“You’d already pulled the alarm, people were leaving. You should have run.” Roman looked down again, shaking his head. “Away from him.”

“And let him shoot people?” Remus asked. Roman didn’t answer. “He was my best friend, Ro. I was the only one he ever listened to - ever. I talked him out of so many stupid ideas - but not all of them. I thought maybe he’d listen and stop being such a bastard.”

“Did you know?” 

“Wh-” Remus scowled. “You think I’d keep that kind of thing a secret? I’m not a bad person, either, Roman! I care about people, I’m not going to let kids die for my friend! Why the hell would I know and not tell anyone?”

“I…” Roman shook his head. “Some people think you and him planned it out… that he’d only shoot you. I… I know that’s crazy, but… I can’t stop worrying that you…”

“I’m not suicidal, either.” Remus sighed. “It just happened. I didn’t even think about doing anything but getting him to stop. I never think before I act. It’s why I’m so shitty at being a person. I don’t want to die, Roman.”

“I know you don’t.”

“Then why did you ask?” 

“Because I care about you, dipshit.” Roman glared at him, wiping tears away. “And I don’t want my only brother to die. I care about you.”

“Oh.” Remus hadn’t taken that into account - he usually didn’t have to. “Oh yeah.”

* * *

“God, I’m so glad to be out of that hell.” Remus sighed in relief, following his family toward the exit at last. He could walk now - after a few double checks - and the stitches were out. All he had to do now was go to physical therapy and check up on the scar tissue, and he’d be good to go.

“What the-” the group slowed to a stop as the approached the lobby, hearing a loud commotion. “Why are they here?”

“Who is it?” Remus hissed softly to Roman, who groaned.

“Journalists. Can’t they back the fuck off?”

“Journalists?” Remus scowled. “Why? Am I famous or some shit?”

“... what do you think, dumbass? The shooting was crazy news - they loved the part where you saved everyone and nearly died. It’s disgusting.” Roman muttered. “It’s nobody’s business.”

“Oh, cool! I’m famous!” Remus cackled. “I wonder how many times I can swear on live TV without being kicked off.”

“You’re not gonna talk to them,” Virgil said, draping his oversized jacket on Remus’s head and shoulders. “They’re not going to be sensitive, and they’re going to ask you really… personal questions.”

“Oh.” Remus frowned, realizing that Virgil was correct. He hadn’t really talked about Brent to anyone but Roman yet, and he wasn’t about to do that with someone he didn’t even know. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“Security is already taking care of it,” Logan said, following a hospital employee as they were ushered toward the employee only exit. “We don’t have to worry.”

“Try telling that to Pop,” Remus muttered, waving Virgil away as he tried to make him wear the hood. “It’s a million degrees out! I’m not wearing this!”

“Just until we’re in the car?” Virgil suggested, looking around worriedly. “For my sake?”

“Ugh, fine.” Remus sighed dramatically, but shot Roman a wink and made him chuckle. “But only because I’ve evolved into a goodie two shoes hero.”

“Yeah, right.” Virgil snorted. Hey, success! He managed to get Virgil to laugh while he was anxious!

Once in the car, Remus pulled off the hoodie and threw it one-handed into Virgil’s seat up front.

“There! Take it back! The heinous garment can no longer reside on my body!” He cried.

“Jesus - okay.” Virgil laughed, and Remus smiled triumphantly.

“Let’s just get home, alright?” Logan asked as he pulled out of the parking lot. Remus could tell he was amused, though it was harder to see with Logan.

“What is up with you today?” Roman snickered. “You’re weirdly cheerful.”

“I hated being in there.” Remus reminded him. “Now I get to go home and watch all my favorite anime again. I can’t believe they don’t even have Netflix on those TVs!”

“Fair enough, I guess.” 

“Well, you can watch anime all day now if you want,” Virgil said. “Since there are only a few weeks of school left anyway.”

“Niiice” Remus cheered, elbowing Roman. “Too bad school is still ‘too strenuous’ or I’d keep you company!”

“A lot of kids aren’t going back yet.” Roman pointed out softly, looking out the window. “It was… a big thing. You aren’t the only one doing online classes this summer to finish up.”

“Really?” Remus thought for a moment. That… made sense. He knew at least a few kids had seen him get shot. That was probably pretty fucking traumatizing. Damn. Oh… Roman wasn’t going back yet, was he? Obviously. He’d been at the hospital with Remus almost this entire time. “I mean, I guess that makes sense. I just didn’t think about it.”

“You don’t think about a lot of things,” Roman said softly, a small smile on his face. Remus smiled sheepishly, feeling guilty once again for all of this.

“Yeah, I’ll start working on that.”

**Author's Note:**

> Do You Want A Part Two Of This?  
> let met know!!
> 
> Love you all,  
> -Rex


End file.
